The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - September 13, 2023
The U.S. Department of Defense wants secure supplies of battery metals as it increasingly adopts electric military vehicles such as this transport based on GMC's Hummer EV.
Core from a hole that cut through high-grade nickel mineralization this year at a resource expansion target on Talon Metals' Tamarack project in Minnesota.
Continuing its mission to establish domestic lithium-ion battery supply chains, the U.S. Department of Defense is investing more than $110 million to support lithium and nickel projects in the United States.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP), announced on Sept. 12 that it is investing $90 million to support the reopening of Albemarle Corp.'s Kings Mountain lithium mine in North Carolina and $20.6 million to advance exploration and resource definition at Talon Nickel Corp.'s Tamarack project in Minnesota.
These investments are a direct response to President Biden's 2022 directive for the Pentagon to utilize Defense Production Act Title III funding to bolster American supplies of materials critical to large-capacity lithium batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
"The United States depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical materials necessary for the clean energy transition – such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese for large-capacity batteries. Demand for such materials is projected to increase exponentially as the world transitions to a clean energy economy," the President penned in the memorandum.
Since the issuance of this directive, DOD has unveiled plans to invest $15 million to support the expansion of Jervois Mining's Idaho Cobalt Operations and $37.5 million to help fund the work needed to complete Graphite One Inc's feasibility study for an advanced graphite material supply chain that will include a mine in Alaska and processing plant in Washington state.
"Congress and the Biden Administration have created powerful new tools to build-up domestic supply of critical minerals required for clean energy systems and national defense," said Talon Metals CEO Henri van Rooyen.
The $90 million DPA Title III grant to Albemarle will be used to purchase a fleet of mining equipment as part of the world-leading lithium producers' planned reopening of the Kings Mountain mine.
"As one of the only U.S.-based lithium companies to carry out lithium extraction, processing, and novel lithium battery material research in the United States, Albemarle is uniquely positioned to help power the clean energy revolution," said Albemarle's President of Energy Storage, Eric Norris. "Lithium is an essential ingredient in our sustainable energy future. Demand is expected to increase significantly, and it is imperative to secure our nation's supply of this critical resource."
Home to hard rock lithium deposit, Kings Mountain is slated to produce roughly 50,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate-equivalent, enough for roughly 1.2 million standard-sized EVs per year.
DOD says the investment into Albemarle supports a five-year investment plan to secure supply chains for minerals and materials critical to the U.S. military and commercial sector.
"The agreement with Albemarle demonstrates the DoD's ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of our warfighter, today and in the future," said MCEIP Director Anthony Di Stasio.
Albemarle estimates that Kings Mountain will begin producing lithium as early as the end of 2026, pending permitting.
To bolster future production of battery-grade nickel in the U.S., DOD is contributing $20.6 million on a cost-share basis to support Talon's work to discover and delineate additional high-grade nickel deposits within the Midcontinent Rift geology of the U.S.
"With this funding, Talon will be able to accelerate our efforts to discover domestic sources of battery-grade nickel and help ensure that the United States is not dependent on Russia, China or Chinese companies operating in countries like Indonesia for nickel that is needed in both defense platforms and clean energy systems," said van Rooyen.
Around-the-clock exploration has been expanding upon the nickel at Talon's Tamarack project in central Minnesota, and the company recently acquired mineral rights for the historic Henry Ford Land package, which is on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and next to the only operating nickel mine in the U.S.
With five drill rigs and an in-house team of geophysicists, Talon says it is well positioned to use the DOD funding to expand and accelerate its exploration activities in Minnesota and Michigan.
"With this funding comes a responsibility to demonstrate that we can discover the necessary ingredients like nickel required for national defense systems and clean energy while also making sure we protect the environment, create good jobs, engage and listen to communities, and seek the participation of tribal sovereign governments and their members," said van Rooyen. "Our team is ready to show that we can do things differently and achieve each of these objectives."
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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